CTGIA in the news

The Record Journal 09/08/2010, Page 15

Police train so city’s ’90s gang era doesn’t return
By Jason R. Vallee

Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN — During the 1990s, the city dealt with a feud between motorcycle gangs and problems with street gangs such as the Latin Kings and Los Solidos. Police say many things, including training, helped curb those problems. City police continue to work with other communities on preventing gang violence. The training room at the Police Department was transformed into a gang specialist training ground Thursday and Friday as the local department and the Connecticut Gang Investigators Association hosted their third annual state training session. “It’s an effort to work together with other agencies so we can share our experiences, disseminate information and share what it takes to prevent gang activity from growing throughout the state,” said P olice Capt. Donald Parker, a gang specialist and one of the instructors. “We’ve been through it once and we don’t want to go through it again. It takes a team effort from everyone to make prevention work,” he said. The annual training is part of efforts by the association to battle remaining gang activity and prevent flare-ups as many gangs, including motorcycle clubs in the Northeast, are looking to rebuild and expand, said William Naholnik, executive director of the association. Naholnik said the organization started in the 1990s after a spike in motorcycle-gang violence. The Diablos had their headquarters on Grove Street. Their leader, Jack Baltas, is serving time in federal prison and is scheduled to be released in 2013, Parker said. There isn’t a serious problem now, Parker said, but failing to provide the training for the future could open the door for a resurgence. Officer Thomas Cirillo, another trained gang specialist for the city Police Department, said over the past couple years the department and association have expanded training efforts to include courses in Vermont. “This effort has really been a successful way to not only provide information, but make connections,” Cirillo said. “Gangs are mobile and so through efforts like this, we are able to move with them and combat the problem before it starts.” Those in the course said Friday that, while they already knew some of the information, they were impressed with the details that the training provided and felt it could be used almost immediately to spot potential problem areas and gang members before serious crimes are committed. Officer Jason Watson, a 10- year member of the Southington Police Department, said he would share the information with his fellow officers and planned on incorporating the knowledge he gained into prevention materials for local children. “This is just a wealth of knowledge you couldn’t get anywhere else,” Watson said. “I was aware of the activity before but what I learned today alone will help me see things differently and be more effective.”

Meriden Police Capt. Donald Parker, right, talks about Connecticut’s motorcycle gangs last Friday during a training seminar at the Police Department.
Christopher Zajac / Record-Journal

“MR. NIK” Goes to Washington

CTGIA Director William “Nik” Naholnik and Deputy Director Don Parker represented CTGIA at the quarterly Board of Directors meeting of the National Alliance of Gang Investigator Associations (NAGIA) in Washington D.C. April 29 through May 1 and participated in the Alliances first ever “Day on the Hill”. The leadership of the state and regional associations, representing over half the states and Ontario, Canada, went to Congress and met with Senators, Congressman, staffers and key Committee members to discuss issues, funding and legislation important to combating gangs.

Among the issues discussed included support for funding JAG/Byrne Grants and COPS Hiring Grant, restoring Federal funding to the GREAT program, restoring funding to the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS, NESPIN in New England) and passage of a comprehensive Federal gang bill. Currently, there are two bills before Congress, the Feinstein/Schiff bill which include suppression and enforcement measures along with intervention and prevention measures and the Youth Promise Act which has very strong intervention and prevention measures aimed towards youth, with no suppression or enforcement provisions to address hardcore adult gang criminals. CTGIA and NAGIA believe an all encompassing bill that addresses prevention; intervention and suppression would be most effective.

Nik and Don met with law enforcement staff specialists from Senator Dodd’s office, Congressmen Courtney, Himes, and Larson’s offices. They ended their day with a productive meeting with 5th District Congressman Chris Murphy and his staffer Linda Foreman. Congressman Murphy proved to be well-informed on the issues and both helpful and supportive.

CTGIA would like to thank all the staff members and Congressman Murphy for taking time to meet with us and being gracious hosts. We would also like to extend a special thank you Meriden City Councilwoman and Connecticut based Chris Murphy staff member Hilda Santiago for all her assistance in arranging our meeting with Chris Murphy.

Left to right- Deputy Director Don Parker, Congressman Chris Murphy and Director Nik Naholnik meeting in Congressman Murphy’s Office

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